Shropshire Star

The comforts of home lift Shrewsbury

Shrewsbury are taking the comforts of home as they pull away from the Midlands Two West North drop zone.

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The Sundorne Castle men landed a solid 29-13 victory from their clash with visitors Old Yardleians.

Five tries came from John Bucknell, Lewis Jenkins, Rob Sankey, Sam Wycherley and Jock Ibanez, with a brace of conversions from Jamie Simpson.

It meant a welcome bonus point win against a team just above Shrewsbury.

Meanwhile, jubilant Bridgnorth played the numbers game with a 41-7 victory at bottom club Walsall.

It was the All Blacks' 10th successive victory in Midlands One West. The win put them five points clear of Stratford-upon-Avon at the top of the table.

Bridgnorth are now just nine matches away from clinching back to back promotions. The rearranged match at Walsall was the only fixture to take place in the division.

It gave Bridgnorth a perfect opportunity to put some distance between themselves and their main pursuers Stratford, Bournville and Worcester Wanderers – and they took it in style.

Whitchurch remain fifth and still in contention for promotion.

Meanwhile, Newport's woes continued with a 31-3 home defeat at the hands of Scunthorpe in National Three Midlands.

With 21 players injured or unavailable, the seconds were forced to concede their cup tie and there was no prospect of fielding a third team.

The end result was never in doubt for the firsts who, on top of everything else, lost full-back and goal-kicker Liam Holder to a back spasm two minutes before kick-off.

There were unpleasant exchanges between the two dugouts and culminated in Scunthorpe's refusal to go through the traditional end of match 'tunnel,' or offer their hosts the same courtesy.

The two sides now move on to their next challenge at opposite ends of the table.

Clee Hill skipper George Evans hailed his pack after an historic victory against Ludlow in Midlands Three West North.

The villagers won 24-8 at home to their near-neighbours in the first ever competitive fixture between the two clubs.

There was more than local pride at stake, with Clee Hill now firmly in the thick of a congested promotion chase.

While Tamworth are well clear at the top, just half a dozen points now cover the next four sides – Newcastle, Ludlow, Cleobury Mortimer and Clee Hill.

Ludlow, also carrying a string of injuries, have now suffered back to back defeats.

They slipped to third, following Newcastle's 29-11 home win over Cleobury Mortimer.

It won't get any easier for Ludlow on Saturday when runaway leaders Tamworth are the visitors to the Linney Ground.

Market Drayton remain bottom of the table and win-less in Midlands 4 West North after their 13th successive loss.

But, while it may have been unlucky 13, the Greenfields Lane outfit can hold their heads high after a battling 12-0 defeat at Bishop's Castle & Onny Valley, in which they were not far from a losing bonus point.

Telford Hornets' fixture at Bromyard was postponed.

Oswestry were singing in the rain as they stormed to the top of Cheshire South with a 49-0 victory over struggling Knutsford at a muddy Granville Park.

The Eagles managed to beat the wet weather that saw previous leaders Manchester Medics' game at Congleton called off.

They took full advantage to rack up a comfortable bonus point victory that now sees them three points clear at the summit from the Medics.

Knutsford arrived late and with only 12 men. The referee decided that, according to RFU rules, the match should go ahead – but Oswestry should play with 13.

The Os were soon in front when a smart move from the pack and quick ball to the wing saw the speedy Ivor Hughes slice through to score, fly-half Fin Grogan converting.

Soon after, more Knutsford men turned up and the game moved to 15-a-side.

A second try quickly arrived when giant full-back Luca Owen-Youens collected a kick-off and interchanged with his backs before touching down under the posts. Grogan added the extras.

Hughes went over for a second converted try as Oswestry led 21-0 at the break and the scores continued to flow in the second-half.

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